Check out WBTA for these and other stories:

• The cause of a fire at Cristina's Restaurant early Saturday morning is still being investigated. The kitchen and restaurant portions of the building suffered a total loss, and the banquet rooms sustained smoke and water damage. Business owner Charles Brumstead is asking anyone who has upcoming reservations at Cristina's to call (585) 343-1029.
• Temperatures will again climb towards 90 degrees during the second half of this week, and high humidity won't make it any more tolerable. Yay.
• Sen. Charles Schumer says that families will pay an average of $720 more to heat their homes this winter. In the meantime, he's putting together a proposal that would provide federal aid to help families cover the cost of the increase. We should check out his Web site from time to time to see where it goes.

Thanxs so much for this Web Page. I've been hoping for a place like this to communicate with folks back home. I've just been viewing the site and it's a great start. I hope more is to follow.

I'm hoping some of my classmate from 1974 would commuincate thru this forum from time to time,or any one from back in the day would as well.

My hope is that there are some folks from this time still in town and look to this site occassionally.

Now for my request to the folks who put up and maintain this site. How about some throw back photos and events from time to time, it might scare us and humor us as well.

It's funny, when we were younger we were looking for a way out of Batavia and fast, but having been back a little while ago, I found myself longing for some of what was lost. The peacefullness of the town, the country flavor, the warmth and serenity of the town. We thought that there was nothing in Batavia(boy were we wrong) but now in our latter years Batavia is just what we need.

Not too long ago, I heard from my friend Eddie Reger and he said that he plans on retiring in Batavia when it's his time. (Not a bad idea) As far away as life has taken us, Batavia will always be home in our hearts and mind.

Be Well and God Bless.

Nate.....

The Muckdogs (14-11) improved their winning streak to three games, winning 4-1 against the Aberdeen Ironbirds (12-13). LaCurtis Mayes’s (1-0) one inning of work was enough to get him the win on the mound. Adam Reifer (6) pitched a scoreless 9^th, walking one and striking out two to get the save. On the losing end, Aaron Odom (1-3) pitched five innings with seven hits, two earned runs and eight strikeouts for the loss.

These photos were sent to us this morning of the fire at Cristina's Restaurant on Ellicott Street. Batavia firefighters say that the blaze broke out around 1:00am this morning when the building was vacant. There were no injuries, and the fire is reported as under control.

Photos taken by Steve Ognibene.

Batavia city police report one arrest for Thursday: Andrea M. Gray, 30, of 19 Porter Ave., Batavia, was charged with second-degree criminal trespass. Police were told that Gray entered a residence on Vine Street and refused to leave.

Blotter

Thursday:

• 9:14am, 110 Summit St., criminal contempt
• 9:39am, 100 Ross St., criminal mischief
• 12:08pm, Genesee County Mall, accident
• 1:36pm, 390 W. Main St., accident
• 2:50pm, 341 W. Main St., fraud
• 5:02pm, 12 Ellicott St., harassment
• 8:31pm, 4152 W. Main St., accident

Friday:

• 12:21pm, 166 Vine St., criminal mischief
• 12:23pm, 215 Summit St., accident
• 12:29pm, W. Main Street, accident (car + bike)
• 12:53pm, W. Main Street, accident (car + pedestrian)
• 1:53pm, 6 Ellicott Place, larceny
• 4:02pm, 412 E. Main St., larceny
• 5:03pm, 135 Hutchins St., larceny
• 5:30pm, Porter Avenue, larceny
• 6:08pm, 510 Ellicott St., larceny
• 6:55pm, 10 W. Main St., harassment
• 9:11pm, 5 Porter Ave., trespass
• 9:38pm, 419 E. Main St., harassment

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Today we premiere the first episode in a series that I would hope continues indefinitely. Without much deliberation, we chose Veteran's Corner as the official title — but if anyone thinks this isn't apt or not apt enough or has other ideas, please submit them before we get too far along in the series, and we'll consider renaming.

Every few weeks we hope to sit down with another veteran and just talk. There are no set topics of conversation. I don't have a list of questions. We want only for the veteran to talk about whatever is on his mind. He can talk about his time in the war. She can talk about what life was like when she got back from the war. He can talk about bagging groceries before he ever even got drafted. Whatever.

That's it.

For our first episode, we sat down with Don Nagle, a veteran of the U.S. Navy during World War II. Don told us a little about his time with the American Legion — he's the historian for the Bergen post. He also spoke a little bit about his training as a radioman for a division of the Navy's air crew, about flying over the Bermuda Triangle and about almost getting shipped to Japan for an airstrike in what may have very well been a suicide mission.

 The Muckdogs (12-11) rallied early to edge out the Lowell Spinners (11-12) 5-3 behind the winning pitcher Jameson Maj (2-1). Maj went five innings, striking out six while giving up four hits and two runs. Lowell’s Yeiper Castillo got the loss in his one inning of work, walking three and allowing four earned runs.

Adam Reifer let up one hit and had one strikeout in the 9^th to get his fifth save. Murphy went 1-for-4 on the night with a double and three RBI.

It wasn't until page three of today's Daily Fly Swat that I got to what seemed to me pretty big news — although Correspondent Susan J. Conrad's account of Oakfield's sesquicentennial on the front page was a lot of fun. In big, bold type, the headline at the top of the Local section reads: "County may ground Boogie."

Most folks may have already heard that this year's Batavia Boogie skydiving festival began with a fatal fall last Thursday when a diver's chute did not open. The story was covered extensively, and the Boogie continued through Sunday.

Itr turns out, that fatality may have more lasting repercussions for the annual festival.

County Manager Jay Gsell told Reporter Paul Mrozek that the county may "not allow the Batavia Boogie to continue" because "if an event increases the county's risk of liability, the county does not automatically approve the activity." Nothing concrete has been established. No one has yet said 'No' definitively. In fact, that's all the news there is: the county may not allow it. I put in a call to the county manager to see what exactly it would take for the county to deny the Boogie its permits for next year. I was told that he should call back later this afternoon.

UPDATE: I spoke with the county manager, who got back to me within the hour. He told me that there would not be anything specific that would make the county deny the Boogie its permits. Rather, the county will consider the Boogie more of a "secondary liability." In other words, the county does not want to get sued as a result of something happening at the Boogie, since it would be happening on county grounds.

Gsell also made clear that the county cannot "ground" the Boogie at all, so the Daily News headline is slightly misleading. The only activities the county can deny the festival goers are: camping, the use of the grounds for overnight stay and conduct of any business. If the FAA grants the skydivers permission to jump, there is nothing the county can say to the contrary.

In other news...

Target's new store in the shopping center off Veteran's Memorial Drive is slated to open July 27 — and everything seems to be on schedule. The center's other residents — Bed Bath & Beyond, Petco, Michael's and Famous Footwear — should open throughout the fall.

Reporter Kristen Kotz looks into the popularity of roadside fruit and vegetable stands. Neat article.

Remember: you can pick up your very own copy of the Daily Fly Swat wherever newspapers are sold — like, say, Main Street Coffee. Or, better yet, go subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

Don't forget everyone...  Every Friday home game of the Batavia Muckdogs, from now until the end of the season, is scheduled to have fireworks every night after the game.

Check out WBTA for these and other stories:

• Oakfield wished itself a happy 150th birthday and kicked off a summer-long celebration last night with the burial of a time capsule. (We would love to hear from folks about some of the items they tossed into the capsule — maybe a Batavian bumper sticker.) Former Oakfield Mayor Ray Cianfrini talks about the occasion.
• Thirty-three kids will attend this year's state Sheriff's Association Summer Camp in Penn Yan to help "create a positive interaction" between the kids and the sheriff's deputies.
• A Livingston County man faces up to 20 years in prison following a guilty plea to child pornongraphy charges. Forshee had been previously convicted of third-degree rape.

    It was straight out of a 1930's-era movie.  Jack Davis at a Greece gas station, paying people the difference between the current cost of gas and the $1.50-a-gallon price it stood at when Bush was inaugurated.

    Quickly.  What came to mind just now?  For me and everybody else I've told about this, it was two words: "Buying votes".  It felt like a time-warp.  But then I remembered that they didn't even have TV back in the days when this sort of thing happened.  I expected to see Jack wearing a white suit and a broad-brimmed strawhat as he tossed money into the crowd, a big cigar clenched in his teeth.  Reality came rushing back, however, and I had to accept that a millionaire candidate was giving people money as part of his campaign.  Is that even legal?  It wouldn't seem so.

    This makes Jack Davis seem disconnected, at the very least.  A wealthy elitist tossing ducats into the crowd in an insulting attempt to garner publicity at the expense of honesty and respect for the voters.  In addition to believing this sort of antiquated stunt serves as serious campaigning, Jack Davis says that drilling in the Alaskan National Wilderness Refuge is one of the answers to the current cost of gasoline.  He'd have you believe that while at the same time hoping you are so ill-informed that you don't know that we won't see a drop of that oil for nearly a decade.  Our own government's Energy Information Administration says ""Seven to 12 years are estimated to be required from an approval to explore and develop to first production from the ANWR Area."  http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/arctic_national_wildlife_refuge/html/analysisdiscussion.html  Even then, it would reduce the cost of a barrel of oil by a whopping 75 cents.  And all that if we allow profit bloated oil companies to sell us back the oil they took from America's national park. 

       It can't be said that Jack Davis is ignorant of economics, though.  He currently holds up to $35 million worth of oil and energy stocks.  I'd be buying people some gas, too.  But, I wouldn't be trying to buy their votes.

It's disappointing to learn today that the Daily News thinks of itself as serving no other higher public good than acting as a fly swat.

Well, I suppose it could also be used to line a bird cage, wrap a fish, clean a window or mulch a garden.

At The Batavian, we're pretty proud of the fact that we're here to serve the community by helping people become better informed and giving all residents a chance to have a voice in their community.

You can subscribe to the Daily Fly Swat at BataviaNews.com.

The campaign to elect Democrat Jon Powers to the 26th Congressional District is again calling out primary opponent Jack Davis. They allege that Davis' financial disclosure statement revealed that Davis has more than $35 million in oil and big energy stocks — including Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Hess Corp.

The Batavian asked Davis to respond to those initial questions posed by the Powers campaign when they were released a couple weeks ago. No one on the Davis campaign addressed the issue directly in this forum, although, after some inquiries on our part, a representative of the campaign signalled the release of Davis own national energy policy that stressed "energy diversity" — nothing more specific, however, has yet been released.

From the Powers camp press release:

"Jack Davis claims that he will go to Washington and work to lower gas prices, yet he refuses to answer some seemingly simple questions about the $35 million he has invested in Big Oil and the hundreds of thousands of dollars he has profited off of record high gas prices," said Powers for Congress campaign manager John Gerken. "The more money Big Oil makes, the more money Jack Davis makes."

Two weeks ago the Powers Campaign posed several questions to Jack Davis regarding his conflicted interests regarding America's energy independence. Two weeks have passed and still no word from Jack Davis about the $35 million in energy stocks.

Again, we have asked the Davis campaign to respond.

Donations Needed for the 2nd Annual Batavia Players Summer Youth Theater Yard Sale

Saturday, July 19th & Sunday, July 20th

Donations of Yard Sale Items are greatly appreciated.  No CLOTHING OR SHOES. 

Items May be dropped off at Batavia High School, 260 State Street Tuesday, July 15th -  Thursday, July 17th.  From 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM

 Items can also be donated on Saturday, June 19th in the morning.

Please help to make this another successful Summer Youth Theater Season.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

AUGUST 14th - 16th - Batavia High School

7:30PM

Tickets at GO ART or ROXY's or at the High School on Nights or afternoons of Rehearsals

OK....so the proverbial question was just asked of me again.  I had made a call to try and obtain some help with  my current Batavia Players Summer Youth Theater Production of Jesus Christ, Superstar and the person on the other line informed me that "time really does fly by...was it time for this again".  Then came the proverbial anticipated question.  Why do I do this year after year, summer after summer and place your life on hold over the nicest months to do a musical show in Batavia?  I assured her that yes, it was "that time of year again" and continued with my conversation to see if they could be of some help.  I added some simple platitude like, "Someone has got to do it!"  I was certain we would digress and since listening is a skill I sometimes have to hone, I decided to give her a listen.

After a few moments listening,  I realized she was just one more person out of millions that expected happiness to find them....I have often thought  that most people really want to be happy but rarely are they happy in the quality or quantity that they believe they deserve.  Most people also believe it is up to happiness to find them.... Not lifting a single little finger to achieve this goal on thier own.  Her discussion of the uninhabital weather, the cost of gas, the price of milk and the need to crack down on some expenses sent me into a quandry.  She actual asked, "How can you be happy with the price of  milk being what it is these days?" 

So we did digress and my mind wandered and soon the person on the other end was getting my uh-huhs and oh gee's etc...... and I was thinking of some basics in my life.  When I was a little kid and the price of milk went up or there was a need to conserve, we just did it.  I remember my mom mixing non-fat dry milk with water and then adding a quart of regular milk to it so that is was 80% powdered milk product and 20% the real thing.  She told us it was healthier and we drank it and obtained the proverbial milk mustache...in reality she was trying to save money.  Mom was never really a stellar cook, but we did have some treats from time to time.  We were not allowed to eat chips or snacks.  We ate popcorn.....freshly popped.   In her words....."It is much better for you and you get a natural product".  In reality, a bag of popcorn would provide my family a week's worth of snacks for 29 cents.  I particularly liked lemon/grape kool-aid with only half the sugar ( YOU guessed it if you knew that Mom said it was "better for us than soda with less sugar")  The reality was it saved money).  I even learned to like the milk mixture.

The point of this whole discussion is this.  When we were challenged financially, and there were times when were and times when we were not, we adapted and smiled and laughed and did everything pretty much that we liked to do.  We just had to be resourceful.   We made things, we had 4-H Meetings, we walked to the neighbors and we took care of our farm and animals.  We may have complained about the heat of the summer while putting up hay or the price of gas going over 40 cents a gallon, but we adapted.  We were always just fine.

Today I wonder.  Do we actually buy happiness?  Are those that have money any  happier than those that need or want?  Do we expect happiness to take its merry stroll through the universe and find us????  When I think back to lemon/grape koolaid and fresh popped popcorn and working on the farm I realize the answer.  IT really is up to us to find happiness and to take as much of it as we can hold.  It is the one component of this world where there is always enough, you can't take too much and it is found everywhere.  It is a simple process, being happy.   I happen to find happiness when I am creating the Batavia Player's Summer Youth Theater Production and working with such great young people.  I happen to find happiness when I sit with my grandchildren and read, play or rock them while watching television.

I find little things and big things to make me happy.   So when you think you are going to complain too much and you are falling in a trap of the doldrums....go out on an adventure.  Scrape up your last change and see a funny movie or rent a DVD, sit next to a children ladden with laughter playground or look at a baby.   Grab a good book and read or take the time to stare at some birds at a feeder.  The abundance of happiness is out there......even in the darkest times it can be found....and there is only one cardinal rule when you do find it..... Share It....Look for someone else who is looking for happiness and give them a hug full. 

The only thing better than finding happiness for yourself is sharing happiness with another. 

Not much Batavia news on the front page of today's Daily News that wasn't already featured on The Batavian. In fact, both Batavia stories — one about GCC's $4 million capital project and the other about LeRoy's Oatka Festival — were on our site this morning and yesterday, respectively. (Check out the link on the right to the Buffalo News coverage of the Legislature meeting for more details.)

Inside, the Youth Page features a pair of articles on summer parks programs run by the Batavia Youth Bureau: the 2008 Batavia Summer Youth Program, which features weekly tennis activities. Call (585) 345-6420 for more information.

Tom Rivers has a nice column on today's opinion page about a local man's ties to an Olympic coach, and the wonders of the pole vault.

As always, we encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstands — Main Street Coffee has some, plus they have coffee. Or, better yet, visit BataviaNews.com and subscribe.

Pow! Can you see that sunburst on that sunburst-orange hood? That's hot. Hot!

Genesee Community College's Cruise at the College is right around the corner: July 26. We mentioned yesterday that the Batavia Area Jaycees will be holding a chicken barbecue.

So, what else can you expect?

How about several custom-built trikes from Skull Crusher Trikes of Leicester on display. Or "remote-controlled flying machines" flown by the Batavia Flying RC Club. Plus there's music, "ultra lights" and good, hot picnic-style food. Then, of course, there's the classic cars, motorcycles and trucks.

Dash plaques (see them to the left here) will be granted to the first 200 cruisers. Pre-sale tickets for the chicken barbeuce are available for $8 through the Jaycees — just call (585) 343-5775. Entry to the Cruise is free. Pauly's Pizza will be serving up slices. The Batavia Lion's Club will serve up some dogs and burgers. Abbot's will be serving frozen custard.

The cruise starts at 4:00pm and should go to about 8:00pm.

Call (585) 345-6809 for more information.

• Nineteen-year-old Anthony S. Molaro, of Alabama, faces several felony charges following an investigation into an incident that occurred on June 28, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Deputies were told that Molaro violated an order of protection by allegedly locking a person in a car and forcing conversation by threats. Molaro was charged with first-degree criminal contempt, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and first-degree coercion.
• Genesee County sheriff's deputies reported several arrests made at the Motley Crew concert at Darien Lake last night. Three men were charged with second-degree harassment, and all three were accused of punching or otherwise attacking security officers at the concert. They were: Andrew D. Bolya, 26, of Franklinville; Joseph J. Manners, 23, of Kenmore; and Brian M. Slater, 35, of Syracuse. Bolya, 26, of Franklinville, was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Amber L. Knapp, 22, of Oakfield was charged with second-degree criminal contempt, second-degree criminal trespass and petit larceny yesterday afternoon, city police said. Knapp was accused of entering and taking something from a Summit Street residence in Batavia that she had been barred from entering per a court order.

Note: All of the above arrests were reported in published releases from the departments.

City Council will vote Monday to allow Batavia's Youth Football program to remain one more season at Dwyer Stadium before relocating somewhere else in the city — that "somewhere else" will remain to be determined.

You can read our earlier posts to learn more about this issue that has ignited a bit of a controversy among council members and city residents. Many say that it would not cost the city much money at all if the program stayed at Dwyer one more year. Others say exactly the opposite, that, in fact, it would cost the city no less than $10,000 to let youth football play another season.

Public comments will be welcome at the meeting prior to the vote.

Also on the agenda for council's business meeting Monday:

• Recognition of a $6,000 grant for portable radios for the police department.
• Contract agreements to hire firms for tree trimming and removal and for grant writing.
• An agreement with the town of Batavia to pursue consolidation studies.

Click here to download the complete business meeting Agenda.

During council's conference meeting Monday, council members will continue the discussion of tree trimming and removal policies throughout the city, sparked in part by the concerns of Councilwoman Marianne Clattenburg that inconsistencies left some neighborhoods looking barren while others were flush with greenery.

Also on that agenda is a discussion on a new sign proposed for the Batavia City Centre mall drawn up (quite literally) by City Manager Jason Molino and presented to the Mall Merchants Association. (You can see the sketch for it to the left here.) This sign would be placed at bothe entrances to the mall and cost approximately $17,000.

Unfortunately, Molino says in a memo to Council, the mall merchants "did not like the design because they stated they could not advertise for events, and that they have lost revenue due to the lack of the sign."

Molino goes on: "When I inquired as to the benefits of even advertising and how much income they received due to the prior sign, there was no response."

The merchants instead requested a free-standing sign that was drawn up by Assistant City Managaer Sally Kuzon (see below). Molino commented in the memo:

"I stated that sign will be placed in-between City Hall and Hawley Insyrance and that a free standing sign downtown would not look very good aesthetically and that it would interrupt the continuity of the pedestrian sidewalks."

No matter. The merchants liked the design of the free-standing sign, which would cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

Any questions?

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a little doubtful that the first sign would cost $17,000 — it doesn't seem like much more than plastic letters mounted on the entrance.